Turmoils of War
by i-hime
Summary: Trembling as she watched him turn his back on her and walk to the door, she opened her mouth to speak. "You do realize that once you leave, the next time you'll see me is in the battlefield." she whispered softly. The man looked back at her. "I know." he said, his expression pained. "But I don't have a choice. Good bye, Hermione."
1. The Free Man and the Puppet

**I decided to try my luck at a rather dramatic fic =) (Can I get a "Whoop, Whoop?" lol) I hope you guys like it.**

**Review and tell me what you think, I'm new at the drama department so what you guys have to say counts! **

**Chapter 1: **The Free Man and the Puppet

The mood of Diagon Alley was full of animosity and fear. Ever since the war had started, everyone has gone into hiding, including, by the look of things, the sun. It was as if it were scared that the sheer darkness of the Dark Lord would envelope it in blackness and destroy it.

"Draco." Lucius Malfoy clipped out testily to his son who was lagging behind, as they made their way towards a dark alley, their dark coats swishing in the wind. "Do try to keep up." He said quietly, his eyes shifting uneasily. He scanned the dirty alley like the trained fighter he was. After the incident he pulled, he was more a coward than a fighter. At least the Aurors had a fighting chance, he however, did not.

Dark and damp, was the perfect description for the dingy dump they were in. The cobblestone ground was littered with rusty tin cans, blobs of stinky dark liquid, that Lucius didn't even want to identify, were found everywhere. It's walls that had peeling posters dating back from the previous war , had cracks the size of a giant's fist and was beginning to stem newer cracks , spreading out like individual spider webs along the pristine slab of concrete. This was not a place for a highly esteemed man and his son to be in. It was perfect.

Lucius barked a couple of profanities at his son and motioned him to follow him. "We are not in the position to keep the dark lord waiting." He growled.

The young man looked up at his father, his lips curled into a snarl. "And whose fault is that, Father?" he grit out with clenched teeth, his gray eyes flaring as it met his father's equally hostile ones. Lucius was taken aback.

With an animalistic growl he shoved his son against the wall, his face inches from his son's cold one. "I did it to SAVE YOU." He snarled clutching his son's black coat tightly. Draco's eyes flashed. "We have a bounty on our heads, father." He spat out with as much acid as he could muster up. "You've sealed our deaths!" shoving his father aside harshly Draco looked at the man before him, contempt clear on his pale face. "I am not going back."

A wide-eyed Lucius staggered back from the force his son used. "You HAVE to." He said desperately. "He'll kill you, Draco."

The youngest of the Malfoys sneered. "If he wants me that bad, he won't" He was kidding himself and he knew it. The Dark Lord waits for no one and an act of this kind from him wouldn't last long. It was only a matter of time before his time ran out.

He swallowed hardly, he was scared beyond anything. But this was his father's fault. He shouldn't be paying the price. "It's you, that should be worried, father." Draco sneered, propping his leg up the sad excuse of wall. "After that stunt you pulled, I'm surprised you're out and about."

Lucius let his eyes drop to the ground. "You must understand, Draco. What I did, I did for you and your mother."

"Mother is DEAD, father. Killed while doing the groceries." Tears welled in Draco eyes, but he bit them back. He would not cry, not in front of the man who had forsaken his family. "Nacrissa Malfoy, wife of a once esteemed deatheater, KILLED WHILE DOING THE BLOODY GROCERIES!" he kicked a nearby crate, wishing it was his father's head. "Don't say it wasn't your fault, Father because it was very much so."

The dark atmosphere of the alley grew darker and colder.

Draco's poison laced words hung in the air, stinging his father. A long silence followed as father and son stared at each other, both not knowing what else to say. Lucius, the head of the once renowned Malfoy family, now a wizard forced into hiding by his own selfish doing, looked at the boy—no, the man in front of him. Draco has come a long way from the snivelling brat he once was. The war has done him some good, teaching the boy independence and enhancing his skills. The younger Malfoy had also developed a better sense of perspective than the older man did. He knew that this offer was a double edged sword.

"You…" Draco whispered, diverting his eyes from his father's guilt-filled ones to the narrow pathway that opened out into the once-busy street a few feet ahead of them. "You didn't do it to save us." He said a bit more strongly as he snapped his head to the left to meet his father's anxious stare. "You did it because you didn't want to be on the losing end. But guess what father, he didn't lose and is as powerful as ever. And instead of being a part of his ranks, we are now a part of his hit list. Not only that, I am now being handled like a puppet." He grit his teeth. "A bloody puppet!"

"I know it is wrong to press on about this topic, you've declined this about a dozen times within the month the offer was made." Said the man with long hair. He looked at his son, who was staring back at him with a look of wariness on his fine features. Heaving a sigh, he pressed on. "But I urge you to consider it, once more." He pleaded. "Your time is limited, and you know that. There will be a time wherein you will have to choose, Draco. And I have the highest hopes, that you'll choose the right thing."

Draco's lips formed a thin line. "I will consider it." Came his curt reply. "I will seek you out if ever I do decide to take the offer."

This was progress. At least he has gotten him to consider it instead of declining at the mere mention of it. Lucius smiled, it was a rarity. Much so, that it caught his son off-guard. "I know you're prolonging your decision, Draco." He moved closer and put a thin hand on his son's tense shoulder. "But nothing you say will change my fate. He will kill me once I am no longer useful. I'm only needed to get to you, once he has you. I will die." The older man gave his head a shake. "You can't keep me alive."

Yes, yes he can the young man thought. But to keep his father alive, he'd have to take the offer quick. , Draco snapped his eyes shut. But if he did take the offer, he'd lose the only thing that seemed to bring back his humanity.

The tears stung and were getting harder and harder to suppress. "I can't..I— I lose her if I do. "Salty tears were threatening to fall now, how could he choose between the woman he was starting to care about and his father's life. But Draco knew he was going to lose more than that. He just had to make himself believe that it wasn't that bad.

It was stupid bringing up the topic of a girl, how could he think about a girl right now? A man's lack of a love life did not matter when his actual life is threatened. It simply was not logical.

Lucius' eyes hardened, his jaw becoming set. "I die either way, Draco. It is inevitable" He turned hotly on his heels and stormed deeper into the narrow alley stopping only to tell his son one more thing. "My fate may be sealed, but yours isn't, he wants you alive. And if you take this offer, he WILL protect you. Don't waste this stroke of luck on a little mudblood."

What luck? This offer has not brought him luck, it has brought nothing, but suffering. The young Malfoy heir was confused, angry and frustrated. Damn this war.

Draco had remained standing in silent fury even until his father had left, balling his hands into fists in anger, the young man pushed himself off the wall and into the deserted main path of Diagon Alley.

He strode away from the dump he was in earlier with quick long steps. He had only gotten so far when a high pitched scream echoed throughout the vicinity followed after by a maniacal cackle, bouncing off the stone floor and walls, making the little hairs on Draco's neck stand.

His aunt Bellatrix has just arrived.

Scared to death, he sprinted forward frantically, nearly tripping on his own two feet. Breathing heavily, he looked for a place to hide. The Dark Lord may still want him alive, but he could have already changed his mind and was now after him and his father. Sweat began to cover his forehead at the thought. Has his time really run out?

Skidding into a halt and avoiding a nearby barrel, he threw himself into a small dark path that led to a dead end. His ears picked up a sweeping spell being muttered and knew that this was it.

"Come out, nephew." Bellatrix Lestrange screeched, her thin lips pulling back into an evil grin, her sharp incisors glinting even with the absence of the sun. "I can't kill you. Unfortunately, I just come with a message."

No response.

Nacrissa's sister shrugged her skinny but able shoulder. "I can feeeeel you, Draco." She said, walking agonizingly slow, each step echoing throughout the wizarding market.

Draco dreaded his Aunt's voice. Her voice reminded him of death, it was a fitting adjective for when she arrives, she always brings death. ALWAYS. Opening his mouth, shakily, he was about to speak when a crash was heard.

"I found him, Lestrange." A masked deatheater claimed, dragging Lucius Malfoy out to show the crazed witch.

Bellatrix twirled around and sauntered over to Lucius. "Happy to see me, brother in law?" she breathed, their nosed almost touching. Unlike Lucius, Bellatrix looked like she hadn't aged a day. She threw her head back and laughed. " You don't look too good. Oh,How's the _brat_ taking his mother's dignified death?" she jeered. Lucius glared at her with hatred. "She's your sister, Bella."

Bellatrix stopped laughing and frowned, her curly ink-black, hair bellowing around her head. She narrowed her eyes into slits, acknowledging the man in slacks and a turtle neck. "WAS my sister." She growled out looking feral, her dark frock not helping with her appearance in the slightest.

The masked deatheater coughed.

The only female in the group threw her hand out, wand ready to cast a killing curse, and pointed it at the deatheater."DON'T," Bellatrix looked at her accomplice. "RUSH. ME." She turned back to Lucius. "I bear a message from the Dark Lord. He is becoming irritated by your lack of progress and will kill you if improvements aren't made."

The witch looked at the alley where Draco stood frozen. "Did you hear that, Draco? Your daddy is going to die if you keep being a bull about this."

Draco burst out of his hiding place, brandishing his wand. "Is that all, Aunt Bella?" he asked, feigning impertinence, though his insides felt like mush. Taking in a shallow breath, his cold gray eyes met his aunt's loony ones.

"The Dark Lord waits for no one, Draco. It would be wise to take him up on his offer." Her eyes flashed, an emotion bubbled at the surface. Jealousy, Draco thought. "He chose you."

Black smoke began encircling her. "Accept the offer, and your father might just live." With a final cackle, Bellatrix and her accomplice shot up into the sky "He'll let you play Auror for a while, but you WILL come to him, Draco Malfoy. You will be his." She called out before vanishing in a swirl of smoke.

A wild-eyed Draco looked at his father, shaken. "Well father, there's your second chance at freedom." He turned away. "At the price of MINE." He finished, never stopping to give Lucius a second glance.

Who would've guessed that Lucius Malfoy, the man who was under the dark lord's thumb for so long, would be the one free, and his son, the unwilling deatheater to become, the puppet.

**How was it? =) Can you guys guess what the offer was? Hahaha REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW 3 and yes, DRAMIONE is implied in this fic but it is not essentially focused on them entirely, as you can see from Draco's predicament. There is much more to it than just romance. **


	2. The Auror with A Mark

**I'm on a roll =) Review my darlings. PLEASE.**

Chapter 2: The Auror with a Mark

The once beatific Malfoy estate was now a horrible mess. Weeds had started growing in the once perfect garden. Cracks were starting to appear on the walls due to the unspeakable things that happen here on a regular basis. This is after all, the Dark Lord's headquarters.

It was funny though. How the Dark Lord was hiding in a house once owned—STILL owned, by the family he taught himself to hate.

Bellatrix creaked open the door and entered the room. "My Lord." She drawled, bowing lowly.

A hiss came from the farther part of the room. "What iisss it?" Voldemort rasped, as he suddenly popped out of the darkness and sauntered over to Bellatrix who was bent so low, her hair brushed the ground.

Still bent down in a bow, Bellatrix craned her neck to look at her master. "He refuses still, My Lord." She reported. "But Lucius made mention that he would consider the offer you have, oh so kindly, made."

A silence followed after the wild deatheater reported her findings. Bellatrix opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it and snapped it shut.

Voldemort, noticing this, grabbed her chin and pulled it up further. "What were you going to sssaayy?" he hissed out coolly, his slit like eyes staring down at her.

"I-I was about to s-su-suggest." She sputtered as the dark lord continued to look at her. "That you choose someone else, My lord. Someone who is both willing and capable." She swallowed the bile that threatened to leave her system. "Someone like me."

Voldemort let out a raspy laugh as he let go of her chin. "He is the one I have chosen, Bellatrix." He began melting back into the darkness. "Why not just kidnap him?" she asked, now standing up.

Her master regarded her with a pointed look. "Because it will only work if he is WILLING."

The faithful deatheater drew in a breath. "He does not show any sign of wanting to come back, My Lord."

"He will come around soon, I know it. And when he does, we will be ready." With that final statement , Voldemort had disappeared.

"Go." his voice whispered eerily.

"Very well, my lord." Bellatrix mumbled as she took his dismissal and exited the room.

Sitting on his bed, Draco flipped his arm and looked at the inky mark that stained his pale skin. He glared at it hoping that the man—No- the beast, that put it there could somehow feel the hatred that radiated off that glare. With a muffled growl, he flopped back down onto his bed and raked through his blonde hair, leaving it messy.

He had arrived back at headquarters only a few moments ago and had avoided all human contact since his arrival from the walk with his father. The former Slytherin looked up at his plain ceiling and frowned. He wasn't used to this. Draco Malfoy was not one for simple furniture. In fact, he was not one for anything simple at all.

A dry laugh left his chapped lips. "No wonder my life is so damn complicated." He murmured to himself. Rolling to his right, he stared at the fake window on his wall. The order had to move underground to avoid detection, they had built a ton of headquarters underneath many of their former meeting places. Right now, he was under number twelve, Grimmauld's Place. Harry's house. Since the burrow was now out of the question, due to the fact that everyone knew where it was, including the DeathEaters, number twelve Grimmauld's Place has taken its place as a refuge for the Aurors.

"Undergound headquarters." Spat a miffed Draco. "Unnecessary." He mumbled, regarding his room with distaste.

The room was nice, yes, to a normal wizard who grew up in a normal home. Draco however, had grown up in an elaborate home with all the luxuries galleons could buy. So a simple room like this did not qualify as NICE.

Every room was standard issue, and was built for necessity. There was a medium sized bed, backed against a wall with a bed side table right next to it, a closet that was chipping and old looking towered opposite the bed. Add a desk that was pushed to the corner right beside of the door frame and voila, that was it. Draco scoffed at the ugly blue walls. The only thing charming about his room was the hardwood floor.

The house above was way better than this underground dump. It was still hidden, so why did they have the need to have underground headquarters. Oh. He the thought came to him. He was a deatheater—Former deatheater, therefore he needed to be kept under certain surveillance until they can fully allow him to participate fully in the Order.

"An Auror with a Dark Mark." He said to no one in particular. "How unique."

"Not really." Came a female voice from the door. Draco snapped his head to the direction of the sound, a glare adorning his tired face. "Snape had a mark too." She said, entering the room and made to move towards his bed.

Draco instinctively put up his wall, draining every ounce of emotion from his face and looked up at his uninvited guest. "Always the know-it-all ,eh, Granger?" he coolly stated, cocking a brow at her.

Hermione crinkled her nose at his statement. "Always the GIT, eh, Malfoy?" she countered as she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. She regarded the young man in front of her, who was dressed. "Where've you been?"

"Out." Came his clipped reply.

The brainy witch sat down next to his lying form. "They let you out?" she asked curiously.

Rolling his eyes at her question, Draco gave her a sarcastic look. "No, Granger. I snuck out from that fake window." He said, jamming a finger towards the window.

Hermione gave her former schoolmate an acidic look. "I'd compare you to an ass, but that's be an insult to the animal." She pushed herself off the bed. "Developing a mean streak, Granger?" Malfoy jeered, his lips curling back to form a cruel smile.

"You have that effect on people, Draco" she retorted casually, tracing theher nails with her thumb. "What will take you to act decent.

Draco shot up to a sitting position. "A decent room."

"Are you kidding me? Yours looks better than mine! Blimey, mine doesn't even have a closet. I live off my trunk." Ron chastised as he leaned on the door frame.

"If you don't mind, Weasley." Malfoy snapped. "My room is as pitiful as it already is." He motioned to his room with a wave of his hand. "I'd rather you not add to its deplored state by your presence."

"MALFOY!" Hermione exclaimed, aghast at his rudeness, a hand flew to her chest in exasperation.

But there was nothing she could have done, no spell could have been cast to take back what Malfoy had said. Ron had already turned the same shade of red that his hair was. Clenching his teeth at the insult, he swivelled around and stalked away. Grumbling about how he should have turned him into a slug while he was still a DeathEater.

Hermione whipped her head from Ron's retreating form to Draco's arrogantly happy face. "I thought he'd never leave." He said, eyeing her warily. "Do you plan on staying? If so, I have plenty more insults that could get you to change your mind." Draco gave her a conniving grin.

"Is this how you plan to reconcile with us, Malfoy?" Hermione asked vehemently. "If it is, you've got some major restructuring to do."

Draco looked away, his eyes trailing the loose threads on his quilt. "I'll think about it, while I try to decipher how you get attention from men with that poofy monstrosity you call hair, and all."

Gasping at his remark and fighting the urge to smooth down her hair, Hermione made for the door as quickly as possible. "Alas!" Draco jeered. "She is sensitive about her HAIR."

Stopping at the doorframe, Hermione looked back at the mean young man, eyes narrowing as she focused on his cold eyes. "I don't know why you always try so hard to be a git?" She shook her head, her hair swaying back and forth. "I came up here to tell you that dinner was ready, NOT because I wanted to see you. And honestly, I think that it's time to adhere to human contact, Malfoy."

With a dignified huff, Hermione walked out the door, slamming the door shut as went.

Draco winced as the door closed with a loud bang, the force causing the light that hung above him to swing violently. "Oh goody." He drawled. "Dinner with aurors."

He had yet to get used to the idea of seeing Aurors everyday and every night. He was one of them now, unless of course he took up the Dark Lord's offer.

Cold gray eyes darkened at the thought. No, he would never take that offer. He was not a tool that could be used, be it for the good side or the bad side. He would not be a tool, not anymore—Not after he had been used to kill his own headmaster.

Severus Snape, a man he respected, had been a tool. And look where it got him? He was dead.

Draco balled his hands into fists, his knuckles turning even paler. "Father, you truly are an IDIOT." He muttered crossly, letting his balled hands slam on the mattress.

Hermione walked into Harry's room, where the two boys were, looking rather annoyed. "Is my hair really that poofy?" she asked one of the boys.

Ron, who was on the bed, had abandoned his copy of the Daily Prophet and looked at Harry, who had been sitting by his desk. "I think she was talking to you." He muttered, saving himself by throwing the question at his best friend.

The dark haired boy could do nothing but glare at his best friend. He had not expected such a question to come from Hermione, she was much too preoccupied to ever think about her hair.

"Well, Hermione." Harry started uncertainly as he ran his fingers on the mahogany desk. "What exactly do you mean by, poofy?"

The frustrated girl looked at the young man and grit her teeth. "Do I need to give you a dictionary, Harry?" came her sharp retort as she put her hand on her hips.

"Blimey, Hermione." Ron mumbled. "It's just hair."

"Ronald, you clearly did not want to be part of this conversation." Hermione stated quickly, annoyance clearly etched on her pretty features. "So BUTT. OUT."

Ron snapped his mouth shut and quietly returned to the magic newspaper. "Yes, ma'am." He uttered mockingly.

Hermione turned back to Harry. "Weelll?" she asked, pulling strands of her hair for emphasis. "Is it?"

"What I'm trying to say, Hermione." Harry muttered, eyes not leaving the table. "Is that—

"He means to say that you need to use more conditioner." Said Draco, cutting Harry off. The boy with the scar had to admit, he was pretty relieved that Draco butt in.

"Well, look who came out of his brooding cave." Ron said indifferently, bring down the newspaper a tiny bit to regard the visitor who just came in. Their eyes met, both cold and hostile. Wanting to avoid another spat and another dose of humiliation from Malfoy, Ron quickly brought the Daily Prophet back up , the newspaper making a crinkling sound.

Harry stood up and glared at Draco. "What are you doing here?"

The former DeathEater pointed at Hermione. "Poofy hair over here told me dinner was ready." He answered casually, beginning to walk out the door. "I will be outside if you need me. The presence of a mudblood, a weasel and a washed out seeker is much to overbearing." With a twiddle of his fingers, Malfoy walked out.

"Poofy hair?"

"WEASEL?"

Harry sat down and blinked. "Washed out seeker?"

Draco Malfoy was a git indeed.

The trio came out of the room only to find Draco leaning on the wall adjacent to the door. "Dinner is upstairs." Hermione mentioned, looking at Harry.

"As in the house?" Ron asked incredulously. Hermione nodded as she motioned for the boys to follow her. "Yes, Remus thought that we should do something a little special to welcome our new COMRADE." She explained, looking pointedly at Draco who merely shrugged.

Sighing, Hermione kept her eyes forward as she led them to the stairs.

Ever since Voldemort's escape from Hogwarts, the Auror's have constructed a series of headquarters that were interconnected with each other to avoid detection. These meeting places were built under previous headquarters and under main places of activity like, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and even the Ministry of Magic.

The underground homes, were protected with extremely strong charms that the Auror's, themselves, modified. Hermione had been a huge help with this task, tweaking most protective spells and making them stronger.

Since these tunnels were made to confuse a deatheater, though infiltration was not likely, it had various twists and turns. Every corridor looked the same. White walls with wooden panels and hardwood floors, not a piece of furniture in sight.

Due to the fact that everything looked the same, only an Auror knew which of the corridors led to the headquarters and which ones led to dead ends. The golden trio knew every route by heart, being a few of the Aurors who actually made these tunnels.

Draco looked at the tunnels in silent amazement. "How do you go about without getting lost?" he asked Hermione, quietly as they made, what seemed to be their third, right turn. "This thing is a labyrinth." He finished.

He would have to learn to manoeuvre around this place soon, if he ever wanted to function well. He couldn't have someone taking him to place, because he didn't know which corridor to use. That would not only be bruising to the ego but he'd get no privacy.

"Everyone who is supposed to be here, is required to study the maps." Hermione answered, stopping at a staircase that seemed to lead to a latch on the ceiling. "You will be given one, when they see that you are ready." Draco raise"d an eyebrow. "Ready?" he asked.

It was Harry's turn to speak. "Once we know that you're not a lying scumbag." He told him as he followed behind him. "You could be a spy, so until we are sure that you are not secretly feeding information to HIM." Harry gave him a look. "You're not going to get a copy."

"How am I supposed to get around, Potter?"

Ron grinned. "You get to pick an escort." He answered for his bestfriend.

Draco choked at the mention of the word. Escort? What was he, a princess? He growled out a fine before shutting up once more.

The four young adults had reached the top of the staircase. Hermione taped on the door three times and muttered the word "Butterbeer." A few seconds had passed when the door slid open, George Weasley's head popping out. "'Ello there, Hermione!" He greeted. "Do come up, we're all starving."

The older Weasley made way for the young Aurors. Once they were all up, George slid the door shut and led them to the table, where they were greeted by a few Aurors and a TON of food.

Ron practically leapt on the table and piled his plate high with food. "Oh, I love getting new recruits! We always get fantastic food." He said in delight, piercing a sausage and biting into it. "This makes your arrival a bit less dreadful." he told Malfoy, his mouth full of sausage.

"Ronald, don't talk when your mouth is full." Hermione exclaimed, biting into a small slice of steak. The chastised boy made a face at her before continuing to stuff his face.

Malfoy looked at them, they were laughing, smiling and teasing each other. How could they do this during a war? Were they not afraid of what might happen if they lost? Draco shook his head, eyeing his piece of fish with distaste. He couldn't even find it in him to eat atleast a bite due to the nausea building up inside of him.

He wasn't used to this. He did not get why these people, despite their loss, still smile. Someone coughed, breaking Draco out of his trance. He blinked the confusion out of him, the table had become silent, everyone had stopped eating. Including Ron.

Remus Lupin entered the dining room and regarded everyone with a curt nod. "Another one's gone missing." He told them as he laid a fresh copy of the Daily Prophet on the table.

"That's the third one this month." Molly Weasley mentioned, grabbing the paper and giving it a once over. "This time it's a Witch, from Beauxbatons." She muttered. The paper in her hands showed a beautiful twenty-five year old smiling and waving. "It says here that she's been missing for at least a week."

Draco stiffened, it had been a week since he's heard about the Dark Lord's experiments. "What does it say about her?" Arthur asked Lupin.

"The usual, she's delved quite deep into the Dark Arts." He answered, rubbing his tired eyes. Lupin had been out on recon duty for a week and hadn't had a decent rest in ages. The lack of rest showed on his face, his eyes were droopy and had dark circles around them. "There has been no activity from the DeathEaters, so far." Said the tired man.

Draco noted how the mood of the table had changed since Lupin arrived. So they were capable of being serious he thought to himself. "Do you happen to know anything, Malfoy?" Lupin asked, shaking his head all of a sudden. "I mean, Draco." He corrected. Squaring his shoulders, Draco opened his mouth to speak. "No, the dark lord has told me and my family nothing about his plans." He stated crisply. Lying was one of his many talents, but the situation has gotten a lot more complicated, which meant Draco had to watch his words.

"And any chances of me knowing what his plans are, were ruined by what my father has done." The heir added in contempt, glaring at his steak knife.

Remus nodded sympathetically at the broken boy. "What your father did— Lupin was cut off by Draco's icy glare. "Do NOT justify what he did." He hissed. Pulling back his chair, Draco excused himself. He had made it to the latch when a thought popped into his head.

He had no idea how the fuck he was going to get to his room.

Hermione was quick to read his expression and stood up. It was a silent offer of help and Draco accepted it. Nodding at the young woman, he slid open the latch and began to descend the stairs.

Muttering a quick excuse me, Hermione ran to catch up with Draco. Once the latch slid to a close, Remus sighed. "That boy…" he uttered tiredly.

The two walked in silence. One glaring at everything he saw and the other looking at the man thoughtfully.

During the battle of Hogwarts, Lucius had committed a huge act of defiance against the Dark Lord that had put his family in danger. He had stepped over to the side of the Aurors in a desperate effort to save his family's life. When the Dark Lord had shown signs of defeat during his face off with the incessant little Potter, Lucius had hurriedly denounced his being a deatheater and surrendered to the Aurors. The Dark Lord, however, had managed to escape and has now placed a price on every member of the family's head, his majesty refused to kill Lucius despite the temptation, due to the fact that he was still useful. He intended to drain every last ounce of usefulness Lucius had in him before he killed the traitor.

Despite his hatred for the Malfoy family, he did seem to take a liking to their sole heir, Draco. And after a few months of seething at the betrayal of his father, the Dark Lord, in all his benevolence, sent word that he was willing to let the young heir back into his ranks AND if he was feeling generous, maybe he'd let his father live.

But there was a price to his generosity, and it was a price Draco was not sure he could pay.

"We're here." Hermione said softly, opening the door to Draco's room. "Get some rest. You look like you need it."

Draco nodded. "Thank you, Granger." He said awkwardly as he entered the room. "Have a good night." Draco muttered before shutting the door and heading for his bed. Thoughts swam in his head as he flipped his marked arm and looked at the dreadful image.

How could he be an Auror when he's been marked? Sighing frustratedly he pushed the thought out of his head, he'd think about that tomorrow, he was in no mood to be thinking about stuff like that. It'd only make him angrier.

Not even bothering to change, Draco slipped into bed tiredly.

He began to doze off into a deep slumber but Draco knew that he would never find solace, not even in his sleep. In fact once he shuts off from the real world, the real nightmares come to life

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**THANKS FOR READING….Whooooooooo =) Chapter two. REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW. **


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